It cost $75; it was worn out. It could maybe hit 65 mph down a sharp grade with a brisk tailwind. It was a Ford Falcon--perhaps the most pedestrian car ever built. But it was MINE and I was nineteen and drove it to the foreign lands of Kansas and NJ and Northern Michigan. And who in their right mind yearns for speed when she’s sitting close on that broken down bench seat.
While waiting out a thunderstorm at a music festival with our spouses, we saw a Ford Falcon waddle by. It triggered a conversation about being a teenager and first cars. Jan and I both drove clunkers that required attention to sequence and details--and paid it back with freedom and possibility. - Paul